Whores of Lost Atlantis [Paperback]

Charles Busch (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0786715219 | ISBN-13: 978-0786715213 | Publication Date: April 14, 2005

In this madcap novel, Drama Desk Award winner Charles Busch brings to the page the plot twists and flamboyant, appealing characters that made his Vampire Lesbians of Sodom one of the longest-running plays in Off-Broadway history. Set in downtown New York City, Whores of Lost Atlantis features Julian Young, a performer and playwright who tells the story of his acting troupe's hilarious struggle to assemble an Off-Broadway production of Julian's play, Whores of Lost Atlantis, in which Julian acts in drag. The novel's unforgettable cast of characters includes Joel, a perfect English gentleman from Indiana; Roxie, an actress/librarian with moxie; Buster, a voluptuous young alcoholic; Camille, the fiery wig designer Julian considers having an affair with; Perry, Julian's best friend, with a weakness for plastic surgery and peroxide; and Kiko, the wonderfully wicked performance artist who tries to sabotage Julian's career. Getting his play produced proves to be a picaresque adventure with plenty of surprises, leaving the reader feverishly turning pages to see if the show can go on.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Well-known as the author of the play Vampire Lesbians of Sodom , Busch displays the same outrageous imagination and wacky humor in his first novel, a semi-autobiographical version of his life as actor and playwright. In this labyrinthine farcical melodrama about a young man and his kookie theatrical buddies, 30-ish performance artist Julian Young thinks he's missed his shot at the big time, until, while temping at a Wall Street law firm, he dreams up the drag vehicle that will establish his reputation. Quickly enlisting a bizarre group of misfits, he plans to stage his work at the Golgotha performance space in Manhattan's East Village. But he is opposed by Kiko, the evil Japanese performance artist who rules the scene, and her wicked aging drag-queen friend, Thirteen. Also menacing his success is Julian's married middle-aged lover, whose dark past and shady financial deals threaten to land the entire theatrical troupe in jail. Backstage romance makes up much of the drama, and humor is liberally provided by Julian's reflections on life in the theater. Busch is a natural storyteller and he spins a highly amusing--and at times highly erotic--tale, but his lack of experience as a novelist leads to a slowish start, mixed intentions (this is half memoir, half farce) and a terribly rushed conclusion. Still, it's lots of fun, particularly to anyone who's ever seen Busch tread the boards.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Busch's Vampire Lesbians of Sodom holds the record for the longest-running Off-Broadway play, with over 2000 performances. The title of this novel is also the title of a play, written by protagonist Julian Young in a single day while he's temping on Wall Street; it premieres deep in Manhattan's grungy East Village and goes on to become a cult phenomenon. First novels are supposed to be autobiographical, and this one is blazingly so. It is also often quite funny, peopled with a zany cast, most of them gay. Yet the novel obviously has deeper intentions than simply getting some laughs. It's about finding one's true identity amid the various roles--some sham and some sincere--that we all assume. It's long and repetitive, and the gay humor is sometimes strained, as are the Manhattan in-jokes, but on the whole this is a worthy first novel.
- Charles Michaud, Turner Free Lib., Randolph, Mass.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (April 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786715219
• ISBN-13: 978-0786715213
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,590,554 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the three funniest novels that I ever read., July 30, 2002

By 

OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Whores of Lost Atlantis: A Novel (Hardcover)

_I ordinarily do not read humorous novels more than once. The only exceptions would be _A Confederacy of Dunces_ By John Kennedy Toole and _The Big U_ by Neale Stephenson. I would not hesitate to put this book in that class.

_I get a sense here that Busch must have indeed "written what he knew" because it just comes across as so fresh and uncontrived. These are real people, in a real madcap Village world. You actually end up CARING about them, which is rare for a modern novel.

_Yes, I consider this book to be a "guilty pleasure", but that's because I grew up wanting to be an artist and a bohemian- and ended up an engineer in suburbia. At least in this book I can vicariously live an interesting and creative life around interesting and creative people....

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Busch a better playright than novelist, May 13, 2000

By 

Ashley Lambert-Maberly (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whores of Lost Atlantis: A Novel (Hardcover)

Don't get me wrong--this was a fun read from start to finish--but it was obviously barely-disguised biography and not nearly as entertaining as its situations would suggest.

One reader compares this to "Blue Heaven," and yes, the tone is similar, but the accomplishment is much, much smaller. It's a fun read, a light read, but not a brilliantly-written read (whereas "Blue Heaven" makes one want to read out each sentence, the prose is so good), and the engaging plot is also not nearly as wire-tight as Keenan's.

I hope for future books from Mr. Busch, though--now that he's got his autobiography out of his system, we can see what he accomplishes with his imagination set on full tilt.

Note: a 3 star ranking from me is actually pretty good; I reserve 4 stars for tremendously good works, and 5 only for the rare few that are or ought to be classic; unfortunately most books published are 2 or less.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Makings of a Great Movie!, March 12, 1998

By 

"sfmeg" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whores of Lost Atlantis: A Novel (Paperback)

I absolutely loved this book! Why someone hasn't optioned this book for a movie (a la Coen brothers?!?) I don't know! Ihaven't had that much fun reading a book in a long time. I am currently studying intolerance in literature (i.e., how literature may or may not influence how a reader perceives certain aspects of society, such as race, religion, gender and sexual identity) and I was able to use this book as an example of how far mainstream writing has come in portraying the lives and loves of gays in a positive light. I recommend this book on two fronts - for those who want an insiders view of the theater (especially drag and advant garde theater) and for anybody who wants to meet (in literature, anyway) a gay man who is funny, bright, resourceful, and caring, especially to his friends. I had the best time reading this book, and I was truly sorry to see it end.